The 'Burbs
List Price:
Our Price: $8.48
You Save: $6.46 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.33 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman, Rick Ducommun, Tom HanksBrand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-05-04
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of The 'Burbs
Movie Review: Ever wonder what your neighbors are really up to?
Summary: 5 Stars
Every suburban neighborhood has a story of an average guy on the block who mowed his lawn for the 800th time and finally snapped, committing some horrible crime that made him a local legend. In Ray Peterson's neighborhood that guy was a local soda jerk who murdered his own family one unusually hot summer, many years ago. Well, it's an unusually hot summer again, a new and reclusive family has moved into the neighborhood, and Ray and his friends' imaginations are running wild. Tom Hanks plays Ray Peterson, who is extremely curious about the secretive new people next door, the Klopeks. His imagination is fueled not just by their strange habits, which include driving their garbage out from their garage to their curb and digging huge holes in their backyard, but also by the crazy ideas of his fellow neighbors, trouble instigator Art (Rick Ducommun), arms dealer Rumsfield (Bruce Dern), and teenager Ricky (Corey Feldman). They are convinced that the Klopeks murdered the family that lived in their house before them, and that they've hidden the bodies somewhere on the property. When another neighbor turns up missing, Ray and his friends naturally assume the elderly man has been added to the Klopeks' body-count. Their suspicions quickly come to a boil, and the group decides to plan a thorough hunt for the bodies as soon as possible. When Ray's cute but nagging wife, played by Carrie Fisher, takes their son away for the weekend, the boys decide it's time to strike! Armed with walkie talkies, shovels, and other gear, the 3 adults take over the temporarily abandoned house and yard, while Ricky gathers his teenage friends in his own yard to watch "the show."
Dark comedies may not be all that popular with the majority of the public, but The 'Burbs is definitely one of the funniest movies out there! Tom Hanks was always wonderful in comedy, lest we forget, and the supporting cast is equally hilarious! Bruce Dern's military nut character is unforgettable, Rick Ducommon's Art brings back so many memories of kids we used to know, Corey Feldman's Ricky gets laugh after laugh with his great lines, Wendy Schaal is cute as a button as Bruce's wife Bonnie, and the spaghetti western ending really is the icing on the cake! But what really hits the mark with this movie is how well we can see ourselves reflected in it. Those of us who live in the suburbs anyway. Now, before I go, here are just a few of my favorite lines from the film to listen for as you watch it: "It came with the frame," "Hey, Pinocchio!", and "My wife is home?!!"
Summary of The 'Burbs
BURBS - DVD MovieRay Peterson (Tom Hanks) would like nothing better than to spend a quiet week's vacation in his suburban home, drinking beer and watching TV. But, spurred on by his two friends' spinning of boyish paranoid fantasies about their reclusive neighbors, the Klopeks, the usually down-to-earth Ray begins to suspect his idyllic neighborhood has been invaded by an evil force, to the point where he and his friends become psychotically nosey. You see where this is going, and you see it from a mile off. Only the general surface-thin plot is somewhat offset by director Joe Dante's fine sense of the absurd, and a host of engagingly played neighbor-types, namely Rick Ducommun as Ray's best friend who's always proposing bad ideas, and Bruce Dern as a sometimes wild-eyed ex-vet who'd love some action. Dante and crew seem to have a knack for keeping these broad characterizations light enough that you don't mind their superficiality. But the best jokes in this unprepossessing film come from composer Jerry Goldsmith's score; Bruce Dern's presence, for instance, is announced by the theme from Patton, and the boys' first approach to the Klopeks' for a meet-and-greet is buttressed by classic strains from Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns. Kudos to the Klopeks, for their evil ways are ably embodied by Henry Gibson, Courtney Gains, and Brother Theodore. In particular, any suburb that finds it's inhabited by the likes of Brother Theodore is in dire need of new zoning laws. But Carrie Fisher's role as Ray's amiably long-suffering wife is thankless, and she deserves better. --Jim Gay
Similar DVD Movies
Spies Like Us (Keep Case Packaging)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $3.26
Price in other shops:
Adventures in BabysittingBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2000-01-18; Published: 2000-01-01; DVD
Best price: $3.21
Price in other shops:
Nothing But TroubleWarner Brothers; Release date: 1998-11-10; Published: 1998-11-01; DVD
Best price: $2.90
Price in other shops:
Funny FarmWarner Brothers; Release date: 1999-05-18; Published: 1999-05-01; DVD
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops:
Uncle BuckUniversal Studios; Release date: 1998-07-01; DVD
Best price: $3.73
Price in other shops:
Joe Versus the VolcanoWarner Brothers; Release date: 2002-04-02; DVD
Best price: $2.96
Price in other shops:
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's DeadHBO Home Video; Release date: 2009-12-15; DVD
Best price: $2.96
Price in other shops:
The Great OutdoorsUni; Release date: 1998-07-01; DVD
Best price: $3.40
Price in other shops:
Men at WorkMGM; Release date: 2002-06-04; DVD
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops:
What About Bob?Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2000-07-11; Published: 2000-07-01; DVD
Best price: $3.47
Price in other shops: